Syngenta Establishes Digital Innovation Lab at University of Illinois

Center at University Research Park and a new partnership with the
National Center for Supercomputing Applications will innovate grower
solutions in North America

February 23, 2017 08:00 AM Eastern Daylight Time

CHAMPAIGN, Ill.--(EON: Enhanced Online News)--Syngenta today announced it has established a Digital Innovation
Lab at the University
of Illinois Research Park where it will employ four full-time
employees as well as University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign student
talent to help solve agricultural challenges.

“The opening of the Syngenta Innovation Center at Research Park is a
welcome new addition that continues to strengthen the relationship
between Syngenta and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign”

Projects at the Digital Innovation Lab will employ “outside the box”
thinking with access to tools, technologies, partnerships and resources
that enable the research, investigation and delivery of new and novel
solutions for seeds product development using data analytics.

“Innovation in agriculture is the lifeblood of the work we do at
Syngenta. Our goal is to bring new talent to solve difficult challenges,
with a focus on seed innovation at the Research Park,” said Bill Danker,
Syngenta Domain Head, Seeds Research and Breeding.

The center will focus on digital data innovation and strategy, providing
Syngenta with agile capabilities to enable the company to accelerate the
pace of its digital journey. It will foster new ways to gain insights
and make decisions from the company’s data assets. The center will
develop capabilities in breeding engineering, digital agriculture,
information technology, application development and big data.

In conjuction with the opening of the new office, Syngenta has an
industry partnership with the National Center for Supercomputing
Applications (NCSA) at the University of Illinois at Urbana- Champaign.
This partnership enables Syngenta to leverage the NCSA’s unique
expertise in high-performance modeling, simulation and big data to gain
a competitive edge.

“The opening of the Syngenta Innovation Center at Research Park is a
welcome new addition that continues to strengthen the relationship
between Syngenta and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign,”
said Chancellor Robert J. Jones. “The opportunity for our students to be
active participants in finding the solutions to increasingly complex
societal challenges brought about by an expanding global population adds
enormous value to their educational experience. The new center really
capitalizes on the internationally recognized expertise in High
Performance Computing (HPC), data sciences, and agriculture science at
Illinois in ways to enhance Syngenta’s drive for innovation.”

The new Research Park operation is located on campus to better connect
industry with researchers and students. The center will start with a
full-time site director, recruit professional staff, and employ students,
who will work on developing projects using technologies such as
smart farming, mobile applications, cloud services, and big data.

“Digital innovation and integrating our data for greater insight is
becoming a critical part of how we invent and bring new products to
market, and support them in the market. This new capability will add
creativity to the way we approach digital innovation,” said John Ormrod,
Syngenta Head IS Global R&D.

Student hiring is underway with the goal to be fully operational by the
summer.

About Syngenta

Syngenta is a leading agriculture company helping to improve global food
security by enabling millions of farmers to make better use of available
resources. Through world class science and innovative crop solutions,
our 28,000 people in over 90 countries are working to transform how
crops are grown. We are committed to rescuing land from degradation,
enhancing biodiversity and revitalizing rural communities. To learn more
visit www.syngenta.com
and www.goodgrowthplan.com.
Follow us on Twitter® at www.twitter.com/Syngenta.

About the University of Illinois

The University of Illinois is a world leader in research, teaching and
discovery. Distinguished by the breadth of its programs, broad academic
excellence, and internationally renowned faculty, the University of
Illinois has a commitment of excellence in teaching, research, public
service and economic development. The University of Illinois at
Urbana-Champaign serves the state, the nation, and the world by creating
knowledge, preparing students for lives of impact, and addressing
critical societal needs through the transfer and application of
knowledge.

About the Research Park at the University of Illinois

The Research Park at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is a
technology hub for startup companies and corporate research and
development operations. Within the Research Park there are more than 100
companies employing students and full-time technology professionals.
More information at researchpark.illinois.edu.

About the National Center for Supercomputing Applications

The National Center for Supercomputing Applications (NCSA) provides
computing, data, networking, and visualization resources and expertise
that help scientists and engineers across the country better understand
and improve our world. NCSA is an interdisciplinary hub and is engaged
in research and education collaborations with colleagues and students
across the campus of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. For
more information, see www.ncsa.illinois.edu.

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Release Summary

Syngenta has established a Digital Innovation Lab at the University of Illinois Research Park to bring new talent to solve difficult challenges, with a focus on seed innovation.